Tag Archives: Easy Dinner

Please allow me to introduce you to Magic… Magic, this is the people of the United States, Australia, England, France, Brazil, Russia, Spain, Poland, the Ukraine, etc. Sorry for those followers I didn’t list but I really dont know your all of your names so hopefully this introduction will suffice! This is a honestly one of the quickest week night dinners I have made in quite some time, and I have all the faith in the world that if your a fan of Chicken Cordon Bleu, you will love this majestical little gent!

I have to say that I think aside from dilly-dallying around my kitchen, sipping wine (surprisingly yes wine and not craft beer) it only took me about 35 minutes from skillet to plate! Who in their right mind do not like easy weeknight skillet bakes?! The devil, that’s who!

Ingredients

1 Pkg Cooked Penne

2 Cups Cream

1 Cup Cream Cheese

2 Cups Swiss Cheese; shredded

2 Cups Chicken; cooked + chopped

1 Cup Ham Cold Cuts; Chopped

3/4 Cups Bacon Crumbles

1 Tsp Garlic Powder

1 Tsp Onion Powder

1/2 Tsp Black Pepper

1 Cup Pepperidge Farms Stuffing

4 Tbsp Salted Butter

For this recipe as well as any other pasta dishes that include bacon, I use thick sliced bacon. I do this because I feel that it adds to the crispness and well as flavor.

What we need to do is cook the bacon nice and crisp so that we can crumble and add it in due time to our skillet bake!

I tend to cook my bacon using the water method but tomato-tomato, so feel free to cook your bacon however you want!

Personally, I have never over cooked bacon this way and it is always perfectly crispy and beautifully crunchy so until she proves me wrong, I will continue with this controversial cooking method! Pfffft you know I like to live life on the edge every now and then!

[Insert honey badger narrative voice here]

Would you look at that?!

Cook your pasta as directed on the packages instructions for al dente, then add your cream and cream cheese in a large oven safe skillet over medium heat all the while whisking to fully incorporate. Once it is all happy and combined, reduce the heat to medium-low.

Would you look at that! Also note that those are bubbles from whisking, NOT BOILING!

Toss in your Garlic + Onion Powder as well as black pepper… (Okay, now those are bubbles from simmering)

Once again, whisk well to combine!

Toss in 1 1/2 cup of your Swiss Cheese (reserving 1/2 cup for the topping) and you guessed it…. whisk well to combine… See? This is so easy, a monkey could do it!

Continue whisking until fully melted and at this point we want to reduce the heat to low.

Toss in your chicken and ham…

Stir well to fully combine all the magical goodness!

GAAAH MY GAWD THERE IS SO MUCH MAGIC HAPPENING RIGHT NOW THAT MY FEELING CAN NOT TAKE IT!!!!!

Finally drain your pasta and add to your skillet!

Toss well to fully combine and coat your pasta evenly, then remove from heat and set aside.

This is something that I started to type up the other day but my WiFi was in and out at the house on top of having a rough day.. so forgive me for giving up and building a fort out of blankets. Yes, you heard right… a fort out of blankets.

I have learned that when things get a bit out of whack and you need to take a step back, just remember you are queen of your own domain and no one can judge you for being DTBBF [down to build blanket forts]. Blanket forts are a no fail way for making even your darkest of days that much brighter- so long as you have a string of Christmas lights hanging around at least.

Anyways, when I was making this dish I honestly had not gone grocery shopping in 2 weeks due to a crazy business/personal schedule so it was made up of what I had hanging around in my pantry which is pretty majestical in itself! It was inspired from multiple different Pins on Pinterest but I took some from this recipe and took some from that recipe, so needless to say it was my own Frankenstein of sorts.

Ingredients

1 Pkg Fettuccine; cooked al dente

1/2 Cup Heavy Cream

1/2 Cup Parmesan Cheese; shredded

1/2 Lb Bacon; cut into 1″ pieces and cooked

3/4 Cup Fresh Spinach; chopped

1/2 Cup Cherry/Grape Tomatoes; quareterd

4 Garlic Cloves; smashed and minced

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 Tsp Kosher Salt

1/2 Tsp Black Pepper

Firstly, cook your bacon… I do mine the water method because I am weird but hey, cant argue with perfection!

Next drink a beer because your feeling are showing and you need to make them go away! Just kidding, its yummy- so drink!

Look at that crispy perfection! This is exactly why I love the water method! Transfer your cooked bacon to a paper towel lined plate and reserve 1 Tbsp of the bacon fat for the next step.

Using the same skillet and the reserved bacon fat, saute your garlic over medium heat for 1 minute or until tender.

Add tomatoes and lemon juice, cooking for 1 minute longer.

Reduce heat to low and slowly whisk in your cream, carefully though so that it does not curdle.

Then whisk in your parmesan cheese…

And then add your spinach. Cook for 2 minutes stirring occasionally.

Look at that happiness!

Lastly, add bacon and stir to combine.

Look at that skillet full of magic! Admit it, you want to just eat it like that… Well at least wait until you combine it with the cooked pasta!

Toss your cooked pasta with your skillet sauce well to combine.

Sprinkle with fresh chopped parsley because you are fancy as fuck and dont let anyone tell you differently!

This delectable little number came from Smitten Kitchen who in turn got it from Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking. If you are curious about dabbling a bit in the art that is Julia Child, I came across a website dedicated to her recipes here. I know I will definitely be poking around on there in the future and for now, it will have to suffice until I remember to pickup her cook book the next time I am around a book shop.

Honestly, this recipe only took me about 20 minutes from start to finish. Easiest way, hands down, to please any seafood eater. Not only does it have the complexities of a dish from a fine establishment, but it also looks fancy as f**. Just saying. So with all of that being said, click on the links above for Smitten Kitchen’s recipe and other magical creations from Julia Child when you get a moment. You wont be sorry!

Ingredients

2 Cups Dry White Wine; I used Pinot Grigrio

6 Tbsp Butter

1/2 Cup Minced Shallots or Green Onions

8 Parsley Sprigs

1 Bay Leaf

1/8 Tsp Ground Pepper

1/4 Tsp Dried Thyme

1/2 Cup Chopped Parsley

1 1/2-2 Lbs Mussels; soaked and scrubbed

Combine all the ingredients except for the mussels and chopped parsley in a large pot.

Bring to a boil over high heat and allow to boil for 2-3 minutes so that all the alcohol evaporates and it reduces slightly.

Add your mussels to the pot and cover tightly.

Continue to boil, shaking the pot from time to time to ensure even cooking, for about 5 minutes. You will know the mussels are cooked thoroughly once they all open.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mussels to a large bowl and allow the broth to rest a bit so that any remaining sand falls to the bottom of the pot. Ladle the broth over the mussels and some into a separate bowl to dip some crusty bread in, and finally dust your chopped parsley.